My hobbit garden. I moved all the roses out of my cottage garden (i.e., next to the cottage, formerly garage) and into other parts of the garden. Now I planting all sorts of orange, yellow, and scarlet flowers, mostly but not exculsively annuals. I put in seeds this weekend for foxgloves, scarlet runner beans, nasturtiums both climbing and mounding, cosmos, coreopsis, and zinnias. This garden is so not typical of me, and all the more fun for it. I did add a couple of dahlias and lilies, and I'll fill in any empty spots with basil. A garden cannot have too much basil.

Rosefolly

I was going to try plectranthus.... And the two I bought were doing fine until we had our freak freeze and they died to the ground. Anyone know if there's any hope for them?

Cameron, your bamboo sounds lovely - I can almost see them swaying.

Rosefolly, I hope you will post pics when your hobbit garden is in bloom.

What roses are you growing, Momof2?

Anne

Anne- Well I was going to grow Lamarque but when I went to order it last night it said it was out of stock! I couldn't believe it, I mean I have been drooling over this rose for like 2 or 3 months now and now the place I want to order it from has none at this time. I checked several other places and nothing. So if I can't find it this spring I'm going for Climbing Pinkie (for sure) and looking at New Dawn, Awakening or Madame Alfred Carriere.

Rosefolly- what is a hobbit garden? I saw your post about this before but didn't know what it was. I guess I could just look it up. I haven't planted my seeds yet because I was afraid we might get another frost.

wonbyherwits- Yes,the sound of the swaying bamboo does sound relaxing. I think here it can be invasive though maybe that's only certain types. Luckily I have no deer problems they eat out of the corn field around the corner from me and in the large green grass area next to a church also around the corner.

Estelle- You too sound like you have a lot of plans this year. Good luck with them all. Isn't so hard to move into a new place and want to hurry and get everything done. Just making new beds in this heavy clay is quite labor intensive and slow going. If I had decent soil to start with then I could get to planting. Oh well!

Anne- I'm so happy!! The Antique Rose Emporium just emailed me back and said that they will have more Lamraque in April. So now it that and the C. Pinkie to start with this year.

I too want to expand my front beds. I need a backbone to the front beds so i am trying to pick some small trees.Hoping for fall and our ever so long winters, to have some interest with them.

But my big thing is trying to talk my dh into a bath tub pond.I have a claw foot bath tub that got a rusty drain and we had to remove it from my work place.I would just love to build a little fountain/pond out of it.But alas my dh thinks i am crazy.Mind you it took him 27 years to come to that conclution.We do have a small villiiage space but i think space..fill it, who needs space.

Flowered Corners, perhaps all you need to convince your DH that the tub pond is the perfect plan are a few inspiration pictures. See link below.....

I'm starting my fourth gardening year at the new house. Every year I have a list of things, that is longer than my car, to get done and I never accomplish it all but I try. This year I hope to 1) build a hoophouse 2) put in raised beds for the vegies 3) patio 4) more fencing 5) replace the trees, AGAIN, that the goats ate 6) plant grass seed where the vegie garden used to be. Last fall I planted 50 + new daylilies,dozens of perennials and oodles of bulbs so I'll be waiting to see what comes back and what doesn't before I decide on anything more.

It was 79 F. today...I can't wait to get started out there!
My week is pretty much planned out for me already so maybe this weekend I can get going on it.
MeMo

Here is a link that might be useful: Bathtub Pond

Well, Momof2, I started looking up every vendor I knew your side of the Mississippi and couldn't find anyone with Lamarque. Was going to suggest Celine Forestier as a runner up... So congratulations! I have been wishing for a spot for Celine in my garden, but instead, I'm going to plant it in my mom's garden!

MeMo - "trees that the goats ate"??? Oh my.

MomOf2, you may also have a look at Climbing Devoniensis and Sombreuil, if you can't find Lamarque. The *3* of them have been on my wish list for a long time, but unfortunately no room :-(

Eduarda

Momof2, if you really want Lamarque, you could try a western vendor, even though the shipping will be high. Or you could wait until next year. But your other choices also sound nice.

As for a hobbit garden, what I mean is a garden that looks like the ones in Hobbiton in the Lord of the Rings movies. I fell in love with the beautiful little village in the Shire and its gardens. Not that I really want to live in a hole in the ground, but I do admire Bilbo's hall, and Rivendell takes my breath away. Since alas, Middle Earth is not real, and I cannot go live there, at least I can have myself a garden like the ones I admired.

I'll post pictures when the time comes. I think this is a garden of midsummer and fall.

Rosefolly

Rosefolly- they emailed me back the next day and said they will have more in April. I guess I can wait another month! LOL Oooo I can't wait!

Momof2,
You might want to try some Austin roses, they're more disease resistant than hybrid teas & beautifully fragrant-my favorites are Crown Princess Margarete, Christopher Marlowe, & Golden Celebration. Gertrude Jekyll is more fragrant than all the others, but has wicked thorns. I think these would do well in your area, especially if you made sure there was good circulation, put them where they'll get a bit of wind.
This year, for new stuff, I'm adding more fig trees, some other fruit trees, some small new beds for vegetables, I can't wait to start planting more stuff!

I'm trying all sorts of new goodies this year, thanks to our seed swap - amsonia, balloon flower, yellow morning glory, monarda, larkspur, poppies, etc. We'll see what does well. During Winter I have also added a red twig dogwood, which is currently starting to pump out new leaves, so this will be a novelty for me too.

The other day, while shopping for soil at a nearby garden center, I found out they had serviceberries for the first time! Needless to say, I'm now reworking the layout of my main border so that I can squeeze in one of these... I need another large shrub/tree in my already crammed garden as much as I need a hole in the head, but how can a gal pass a serviceberry and ignore it? They also had fothergilla, which is another absolute novelty here, but I was able to exercise remarkable restraint and walked by pretending to ignore how lovely it would look in my Fall garden... :-)

Eduarda

I saw American Beautyberry Bush at the Atlanta Botanical Garden about 15 years ago and have always wanted it. Unfortunately, it isn't hardy in my zone. So one day recently I was trying to find seeds for Russian Sage. Not only did I find that, but I happened to find something else: seeds for Japanese Beautyberry Bush. And it's hardy in my zone! So those are just two of my favorite things among dozens of new things that I am trying this year.

Memo- I wanted to say thank you for looking for my rose and appreciate it.

I was wondering...When I first moved here I brought a bunch of plants with me from my old house. I had to quickly amend a small area along my back fence so I could get them in the ground before they died. It is not level and not amended as much as I would like. Would it be to risky to dig them all out and level it and put them back? I'm really afraid I'll kill them. Here are the list of plants I have in there:
black-eyed susans
purple coneflower
red penstemon
keys of heaven
wild romance asters
salvia
foxglove
hollyhock (also new seeds I put down this fall)
butterfly bush
white dragonflower
variegated weigela

Oh it was so fun reading what you all will be doing this year! So many new gardens starting. And a hobbit garden? Right up my alley.

Well, we're finally getting ready to sell our house/mobile home. We've been here over three years and we knew it was just temporary until we could save up for a real house. That time is finally here. We're going to start looking in the next few weeks and put ours up for sale then.

Which means, I have to figure out how to take my garden with me! Or at least, many of the plants. This is my fourth season gardening here and I just got things where I like them. It figures! I won't be able to afford any bulbs so I definitely want to take the lilies, daylilies, hostas, and a few others with me. I know I can start many of my perennials and all of my annuals from seed. But those lilies are my babies!

Tracy

I just planted some Canturbury bells (cup-and-saucer mix) seeds and larkspur (kaleidoscope mix) seeds. I couldn't find the single flowered hollyhock seeds anywhere around the stores so I ordered them online along with the herb Sweet Annie. Anyone ever plant sweet annie before? I love the look of it dried so I got some to try.
Meghan

A potager just outside the garage door (which also leads to the kitchen). I have never had much luck with seed so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that everything I planted will actually come up.
Seeds of choice have been a butter lettuce, Arrugala, Sweet Basil, Greek Oregano, Thyme, rosemary, dill, and a few others I can't recall. In the front yard I planted some perrenial Johnny-Jump-Ups seeds next to my Bearded Iris. Oh please let these come up! I'm trying to switch over to seed growing instead of buying the packs at the nursery - a costly adventure (if not fun).

The other attempt at planting will be the new English styled garden I finished making a brick path on last Fall. Anyone remember those photos? So far I've planted some Sweet Basil and Dill seeds there as well. I was thinking of planting Munstead Lavender along the brick path, but have not had much luck with it in the front yard. I have two plantings that have yet to show signs of life this Spring. I'm hoping they wake up in summer.

Rose - Why are you calling your new garden a "Hobbit" garden?

Heather

Oh sandl I wish I had the room to have a true potager. I only have room for two small raised beds at the foot of my patio which yesterday I planted 3 tomatoe plants some beans lettuce and basil so far. I totally get the seed thing! I'm trying to do the same thing if the rain doesn't wash them all away that is. :O( I planted 7 packs so far. I went to Lowes yesterday to get my veggie plants and they had so many of the perennials I want but at almost $4 a plant! I know that eventually I won't be able to help myself and I will end up buying some but I did really good and didn't buy any. Trust me it was torture though! :O)

As for the Hobbit garden she posted what it was just up a few posts. I never saw Lord of the Rings so I still don't really know what it is myself.
Meghan

I seem to be on a tree jag -- I've purchased lemon, lime, apple, peach and 20 ornemental cherry trees (for the allee (sp). I'm going to underplant the cherries with daffodils and lavenders. Does anyone know where I can buy good-sized non-fruiting olives or italian cypress in the Bay Area?

jxa44, which ornamental cherries have you bought?

Eduarda (who has finally succumbed and bought the amelanchier yesterday...)

Eduarda, there are sooo many gorgeous ornamental cherries to chose from. but this late in the season, the bareroot selection is slim for multiples. that said, I bought 'Akebono', which is relatively easy to find locally. Also planted out a gorgeous magnolia 'Alexandrina' tree.

Eduarda,

I just Googled the amelanchier -- it is to die for. Is it fragrant?

I don't know yet, jxa44 - it's nothing but a bunch of bare branches at the moment, with the leaves just beginning to unfurl. I must have looked like a lunatic at the garden centre yesterday. All the other customers were browsing the plants in bloom and ooohhing and aaahhiing over the annuals, while I decidedly marched through the lines of shrubs and chose a pot with a bunch of bare twigs, which I proudly carried to the cash register, LOL! Quite a few stares in my direction, I have to admit, LOL! I have read so many rave reviews of this plant, how wonderful it is, and with multiple seasons of interest, I just couldn't pass it by.

As for your ornamental cherry, I'm not familiar with the particular one you mention, let us know how do you like it. If you like ornamental cherries you may also try to find one of the weeping forms - I have Kiku-Shidare-Sakura (I hope I got the spelling right) and it's a very pretty sight in Spring. Fall color isn't bad either.

Eduarda

Meghan,

Let me know if you have any luck with your seed planting. I'll keep you posted on mine. I know I planted them only a few short days ago, but I keep going out there to see if anything is sprouting. On a happier note - all the crocus and allium bulbs I planted in the fall are coming up. Today was the first day the yellow crocus opened up! How gorgeous!

The potager was created after redoing a planting bed I was not happy with. We had to remove a cement edging with a sledgehammer, then dig out a ton of grass where we wanted the herbs/veggies to be planted. As luck would have it, one of our neighbors had a friend trying to get rid of a bunch of limestone edging and pavers. Those are now outlining the bed with a pathway running through it. I have to fix the pathway, though - as we half-hazzardly put it together at the end of Fall.

I most likely will succomb to the nursery's call mid-April. I have a large planter out front that houses several annuals, as well as a few pots throughout displaying other annual combinations. The quickest way to get the planters filled is to buy the packs.

I know Lord of the Rings - oh how I know it! My hubby and I are huge J.R.R. Tolkien fans. I had not read why she called it a Hobbit garden, though. I'll have to go back and read the other posts.

Heather

I finally read Roselle post as to what she considers a Hobbit garden. I had to laugh about her comment on not wanting to live in a hole. My husband and I had thought that having a Hobbit house as a retirement home would be awesome! One of the head animators for the LOTR stories made a map of Bilbo's house once - one I plan on trying to find. My brother is a contractor, so . . . hmmmmmm. This might actually work!! LOL! Of course, we have about thirty more years before retirement is possible - but it's fun to dream.

This summer I'm going to repaint our front door and stencil the Elvish words "Speak friend and enter" around the door knocker. I was not kidding when I said we were fans. Did I mention the wall to wall LOTR poster with Frodo holding the ring in his hand? ; )

I'd love to see your garden photos when you've got some to show.

Heather

The new (to my garden) plants I've gone crazy for is old garden roses. I've planted over a dozen of them and I can't wait for them to grow and bloom. It's an exercise in faith since I have gone from zero to 12+ in a matter of 6 months. IMHO, a cottage garden isn't a cottage garden without these roses. The choices of bloom types and colors is enormous and there is a wealth of information/help on the OGR forum. The OGRs caused me to have some arbors built ... more structure to the garden. bloominganne

Bloominganne, now this is not the way it works - when mentioning roses here, you have to provide a detailed listing of all what you have planted, so that we can all ooohh and aaaahhh at your decisions :-) I love OGR too, my favorite types of roses of all times.

Heather, please post pics of your LOTR front door! You were definitely not kidding when you said you were fans!

Eduarda

What's new here? Oh my poor back could tell you everything! So far I've built 3 new raised beds, I brought in lots of huge pots (encroaching on the driveway :), I put in an arch, and I built a small edging fence out of woven bamboo, I'm creating a giant privacy screen by weaving branches through the ugly big metal fence the electric company has bordering my backyard... I ordered 5 tons of topsoil so far this year and have now shifted nearly all of it to its various beds, etc. I've winter sowed a zillion pots for the first time this year, and they're sprouting away out there. New plants, oh lots! Lupins, delphiniums, hollyhocks, flax, platycodon, um um um my brain is going blank, but tons. And for the first time I'm trying organic slug pellets to control the slimey horde that lives in my garden... lives and DIES, I hope (insert evil laugh here).

So... lots of new goings on here in my garden so far, and geez it's only mid-March!

Skye

eduarda,

Busted! Okay, so I've planted, and most I will finish planting this weekend, a "few" more than 12+ :->

Here's the list: Hermosa, Ducher, Climbing Martha Gonzales, Autumn Damask, Ballerina, White Lady Banks, Moonlight, La Marne, Marie Pavie, Mme Alfred Carriere, Mozart, Austin's "Heritage", Lamarque, Natchitoches Noisette, Old Blush, Prosperity, Perle D'Or (in a container), Brilliant Pink Iceburg, Mrs. Dudley Cross, Sally Holmes, Basye's Purple, Mrs. Oakley Fisher, Puerto Rico, Mamam Cochet, and Complicata!

The ones that won't get planted this weekend are those that are waiting for my arbors to be installed. I do not plan to spray. It will be survival of the fittest, i.e. those that can survive blackspot, JBs, and anything else that wants to attack them without looking like a twiggy mess. Wish them (and me) luck!

bloominganne

Wow - lots of new stuff going on in all your gardens - sounds like this is going to be a busy bunch of gardners. Looking forward to seeing lots of pictures as they evolve.

As for our gardens - I WS'd about 10 different ornamental grasses and will be adding to my ornamental grass area. This is my second year WSing so I am continuing to WSow perennials that are not commonly available in the local garden centers. I am falling in love with all the new huechuras and will add new ones. I have an area that they are really doing good in and I want to attempt a sort of patchwork quilt effect with them. I want to continue to add different hydrangeas to the woodland garden and propagate the ones I already have.....

Lynne

Bloominganne, I'm currently wiping the droll from my keyboard! What a lovely collection of roses you have selected! From your list I only grow Ballerina and Old Blush and love both - such delicate and airy look. I have been interested in Mrs. Dudley Cross for a long time but I have never been able to track it in one of the English suppliers from where I get my roses. And I'm sadly lacking on Noisettes, and worse even, sadly lacking more room to grow roses (or anything else, for that matter)... I'll have to live vicariously through you all. Your garden is going to be heavenly with such collection of beauties.

Eduarda

Hi, I came to this post a little late, but I just had to tell you all that when I told DH about "Speak friend and enter" over the door knocker, he replied, "We should paint 'The Way Is Shut!'"

eduarda,

Thanks for the encouragement. Ballerina is what helped to start this OGR craze of mine. I seem to be particularly drawn to the Hybrid Musks. Alot of the other choices are from the OGR forum and trying to find roses that will stay healthy and strong.

I'll post pictures once they get going. I've kind of neglected planting much else so far this spring. If I'm going to plant anything else it has to be done soon before it gets too hot (and humid) here.

bloominganne

This year, NEW for me to grow on this property:

* Verbascums (Mullein),
* Heleniums (Helen's flowers),
* Hardy Geraniums (Cranesbills)
* Nigella (Love-in-Mist), the lovely blues & whites and a new variety I got from Burpee called 'Chocolate Sundae'.
* Layia platyglossa (Tidy Tips), a lovely little yellow native wildflower from my home state of California.

All of these I have already seeded and they are up and growing. Happy me!

I am also going to seed the hillside along the driveway entrance down by the roadfront with golden California Poppies and mixed colours of Bachelor's Buttons. I found an old-fashioned mix that also contains browns, what I have always called 'Rootbeer colors'.
If they do well, I'll take some pictures and share.
~ Annie

I love the antique roses too!! I'm making an antique rose garden. I have a friend who has these large rocks in her horse pasture that she wants gone so we took our flat bed trailer over to her house so she could fill it up with her tractor. I'm using those rocks to make raised beds in my rose garden. A huge project for me!! One that I will be working on for a long time. I have ramblers planted down the outside down two sides, Felicite et Perpetue, Gardenia, Francoise Juranville, American Pillar, Tausendchon, Alberic Barbier, Evangeline, Ash Wednesday, Princess Louise, Blushing Lucy, Russeliana, Tresor de Torigny, Contance Spry & Treasure Trove. Yes..It's a large area. Down the third side is a tall fence that seperates the rose garden and the vegetable garden. There is a little gate to go inbetween. On that fence I have planted, Alexander Girault, Amadis, Clair Matin, Pilarcitos, La France, Ghislain de Feligonda, Awakening, on one side of my gate I have Phyllis bide (I think I might have lost this one) and on the otherside I have Excellenze Von Shubert ( I have no idea if I am spelling these roses right LOL!!) I want to plant some clematis with the roses on both sides of the gate. On the 4th side we have white vinyl fence and on the inside I have Austin roses. There is a gate on that side going on to our lawn. The out side of the vinyl fence I have roses, iris and a mixture of other cottagey flowers. I'm working on getting the weeds under control in this bed. Sigh!! In the rose garden in front of the climbers I have other roses planted all the way around. My plan is to make raised beds in the middle with the rock and have the very center be open for a sitting area. Right now I have iris planted everywhere in the middle and it is my goal to move them into the raised beds and mix them in the other rose beds. I'm trying some new seeds in the greenhouse and I want to add lots of spikey blue flowers to go with my pink roses!!

flowerangel,

OMG that sounds beautiful!! I love beds edged in rocks. I have some, but I want some more, of course. I was just looking at a picture today of Tausendchon in one of my books and thinking how lovely it is. Some of the roses you planted I'm not familiar with but I'll look them up on the internet. When they all bloom, well you're going to have a slice of heaven here on earth!

Please post pictures, I'd love to see what you've created.

bloominganne

Longtime lurker here, seldom with anything to say.

Roselle, another post in this forum has listed a link to Fine Homebuilding -- someone in the Delaware/MD/PA area has built a real hobbit house for their collection of Tolkien memorabilia:

http://www.taunton.com/finehomebuilding/how-to/articles/inside-hobbit-house.aspx

LynnT

Here is a link that might be useful: Hobbit house!

bloominganne
Some of my roses are just babies but some are on their third year. I'll post pictures when everything starts blooming : . )

Bloominganne, I am also in Atlanta and grow antique roses. I started with a box full, from a lovely trader in Mississippi. Their ease encouraged me to grow more. I have many now, in a small space. Just dug out a few more from the "reserve" to plant SOMEWHERE!
I love them. Since I do not spray, and we get beetles so bad in June, I do not get blooms in June or July, but they bloom most of the rest of the time. I am learning to prune them. That to me is the trickiest part!

GGG

Has anyone had any luck with the roses at say L's or HD or even Wallyworld? I keep looking through them but haven't bought one since I don't know if they are any good. I'm still waiting on the antique rose emporium to get in the Lamarque next month so I'm still getting the two I want from there. I was just wondering how store bought ones do.
Meghan

Meghan
From my experience it's a toss up. I've had more bad luck with them than good. I do have a couple of bushes that I bought years ago that are still flourishing. For the most part I have given up on grafted roses because for me they grow beautifuly for 3 or 4 years and then they just go down hill after that and start throwing up Doctor Huey sprouts. I have some beautiful Dr Huey specimens that I gave up on trying to dig out and decided to go with the flow with it. Trained properly they are quite beautiful!! LOL!! There are only so many Dr Huey that a person can live with. I now only buy own root roses. Maybe it's just me!! LOL!!

Thanks flowerangel I think I may just stick to the ARE.

If I remember right I think it was you who had tons of irises. Do you have any pictures of pink or yellow ones? I saw some pink ones at WW and they were to die for but at over $5 for 3 (plus not knowing if they were healthy) I let them be. I would love to get some of those pink or even the yellow and white ones.

I wouldn't trust Walmart for iris. They would most likely grow beautifuly for you but expect the color to be a surprize. I have never gotten an iris from there that was what the package said it was. I can send you some starts of yellow and pink iris if you want. Mine are all named varieties. Please ignore all of the weeds...LOL!! I was really behind last year.

{{gwi:644184}}

Goodness! I don't mind the weeds at all - your irises look beautiful - as though they are exotic creatures grazing in the pasture.

Anne

Last year I planted two 5-gallon valley oaks in the field next to my garden. The deer got the protective wire off one of them, but the other survived and is leafing out right now. I'm going to try with two more this fall. It is best to wait for the rainy season and it is just about done now. Valley oaks are my favorite our our native California oaks.

Flowerangel, I love it! It looks so natural in a field like that and so pretty. I would love some starts of yellow and pinks and would very much appreciate it! Just tell me what I need to do. Thank you so much for showing them to me I just love them!
Meghan

Meghan
I don't see an e-mail link on your members page. You can go to my members page and send me an e-mail and I will send you a list of my iris :-)

Well, what I'm going to try is more in the vein of garden art than hardscaping or plant combos. I have a bunch of old cabinet doors left over from a recent remodel and I'm going to paint the center panels with various garden-themed images and hang them at intervals on our (distressingly bare) privacy fence. I want to try more garden art in general, actually, especially free-standing sculptural things, but I haven't quite decided how I want to progress with that.

This year I am planting roses all over my garden, irises, camellias, gardenias, snowball viburnum, and I just bought a swing set.
~Natalie

Meghan
If you sent me an e-mail about the iris I didn't get it. I tried to e-mail you but haven't heard back from you. I'm wondering if the Gardenwebs mail is going through. I just don't want you to think that I have forgotten about sending you the iris.